Hiding the Truth
by rebelgal298
Summary: Prequel to Truth Hurts. This is dealing with Lucius and Ray, and the trouble she has keeping the secret from the Marauders. Chapter 2 is up! Please RR!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As sad as it makes me, I do not own Harry Potter. Although, I do own Ray.

A/N: This idea came to me as I was writing Truth Hurts. This deals mostly with Ray and Lucius, and the trouble that she went through hiding the secret from the Marauders. This takes place before Truth Hurts.

Chapter 1 – Meeting Gone Wrong

Ray silently finished her homework as she waited for everyone else to go bed. The only people that were left besides her were James and Lexie. She didn't have to wait too much longer before they too went to bed. She stayed seated at the table for a few more minutes, just to make sure that no one else was going to come down. Finally, she packed up her stuff, and headed out the Portrait Hole.

She pulled out the marauder's Map that she had borrowed from James earlier that day and simply 'forgot' to give it back. After checking to make sure that the coast was clear, she headed to the unused classroom that had been agreed upon to be where they met. As she put the map back up, she thought about how she was glad to have it for two reasons: One, so she didn't get caught by any teachers, and two, so that she didn't get caught by any of the Marauders. She knew that they wouldn't understand and that they would completely overreact when they found out that she was going to meet Lucius.

This wasn't the first time that she had snuck out to meet him, either. She had gone countless times before then, and some of them were not so secret. She was still amazed that she hadn't gotten caught. Although, she could tell that they were starting to get a little suspicious.

Finally, Ray found herself standing in front of the door. _I shouldn't be doing this_. She thought to herself. _I should just go back to the Common Room and turn in for the night. I shouldn't be here…not with _him_ anyway. _She stood outside the door arguing with herself over whether or not to come in until she heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Quickly, she pulled out the map, and after seeing that it was Snape, shoved it back in her cloak and darted inside the room.

Lucius was sitting at the front of the room, and upon hearing the door close, turned around.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here." He said, walking towards her.

"Sorry, I…er…I had a lot of homework to do."

"That's okay. All that matters is that you're here now." He said, closing up the remaining space between them.

"Lucius," Ray started, backing up a little, "can we talk for a minute?"

"About what?' He said, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Maybe it would be best if we put our…relationship…on hold for a little while." She said, her voice filled with worry.

"Why would we do that?" He asked.

"Because I can't do this anymore, Lucius. It's too complicated. You just have to understand."

"Understand what?"

'That we have to break up." She said, with a little more confidence.

"We're not breaking up." He said simply.

"Lucius," She pleaded, "Please, you have to understand. Please." She continued backing up as he started to advance on her.

"It's him isn't it?" He asked menacingly.

"Who?" Ray asked, confused.

"Black. You're getting back together with him, aren't you?" His tone was threatening and showed no sign of sadness or concern.

"Sirius has nothing to do with this." She told him. He continued to move towards her. Finally, Ray found the doorknob, and with her hand behind her back started to turn it.

"You're not getting away that easily." Lucius said as he grabbed her by the arm and moved her, rather forcefully, away from the door, and then carelessly, he threw her to the ground. Ray laid there for a moment, waiting to see what his next move was going to be. She figured that she was safer down there than she was standing up and facing him.

"Why can't you just accept it?"

"Accept what?" He asked.

"Accept that I can't be with you. Why is that so hard for you to understand?" After saying that, Ray found out that her theory of being safer on the floor was wrong as Lucius's foot came in contact with her stomach, making her wince in pain. After the pain had reached a level she could tolerate, she stood up. Lucius turned around to face her, ready to deliver another blow, but not before receiving one himself. Ray smiled in satisfaction as she watched him stumble backwards. He wasted no time in returning the favor as he backhanded her. This caught her slightly off-guard, long enough to allow Lucius to deliver yet another hard-hitting blow to her abdomen. She was knocked to the floor, but she made sure that Lucius came with her. Once he was down, she crawled towards the door, stood up, and turned around, ready to fight again. Breathing was starting to become a difficult task for her, but she didn't dare back down. By the time, she had turned around, Lucius was already back on his feet and only inches away from her.

Now, she could hardly breathe at all, and finally noticed that Lucius had her by the throat. He kept pushing her backwards until she felt the cold wall as Lucius slammed her into it. She struggled with him for what seemed the longest time, when finally, she gathered up all her strength and kicked him in the shin. Luckily, he let go and before he could stop her, Ray was out the door and down the hall.

Halfway to the Gryffindor Common Room, she collapsed against the wall, trying to regain her strength. Her breathing was still shallow and her body ached in every place possible. Tears came to her eyes, but she tried with all her might to hold them back. She slowly stood up and walked down the hall, using the wall as a crutch. She had no idea of the time when she stumbled into the Common Room and found her way to the couch. Her breathing was still irregular and she couldn't stop coughing up blood. She laid there, and softly cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Harry Potter. Sad, but true.

A/N: Ok, before you read this chapter, you must understand that I am all for James/Lily and you just have to bear with me until the end. Please R/R!

James awoke bright and early the following morning. He tried to keep quiet as he got dressed so that he didn't wake up the other guys in the room. He headed downstairs to what seemed to be an empty common room. The light was very dim as he made his way over to the couch in front of the fireplace. Halfway there, he noticed a motionless figure lying on the couch. He reached for his wand, unsure of what else to do. He inched closer to the couch, and finally recognized it to be Ray. He gasped as he ran to her side. He was afraid to touch her because from her position it was not evident as to whether or not she was breathing. Finally, he slowly reached his hand out and gently touched the side of her face. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the warmness of her cheek under his fingers.

"Ray?" He whispered. He surveyed her face while waiting for her to respond and noticed a slight bruise above where his hand rested. Gently, he ran his finger over the discolored area and as his index finger reached the darkest area, Ray flinched and James pulled his hand away. "Ray, wake up. It's James." She still didn't respond to him. "Ray, please, wake up." He moved his hand to her arm and gently shook her until he saw her eyes flutter open.

She looked really confused as her eyes adjusted to the dimness. "James?" She tried to lift her head to get a better look at him, but after feeling the searing pain, decided against it. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we are in the common room." He said, not sure exactly how to answer the question. Once Ray heard the words "common room" she immediately sprang up from the couch.

"Common room?" She asked as she placed her hand to her head.

"Yes, where did you think we were?"

"The common room?" She asked again. "She looked around the room to see if she could see anyone else in there with her.

"Yes, the common room. Ray, what happened to you? You look like you were on the losing end of a fight."

_'You have no idea.'_ Ray said to herself but just forced a smile for James. "I'm fine, really." She told him.

"You don't look fine. Let me take you to the Hospital Wing. Please."

"James, really, I'm fine."

"You don't look this way when you're 'fine.'" He pointed out. He moved his hand to the side of her face and touched the bruise under her eye. She flinched as his hand gently brushed it. "Where did that come from?"

Ray studied him for a moment as she thought how best to answer him. She never noticed just how much he seemed to care for her. She was always wrapped up in Sirius's opinion but then again, Sirius just wasn't there for her like he used to be. Ray thought about Lily and how she couldn't stand James, and at this moment, couldn't see how this was possible. It was evident that he was such a great guy and she couldn't understand how she had never noticed that before. She studied his handsome features as he continued to stare at her.

"Ray?" She realized that he was still waiting for her to answer the question and quickly snapped back to reality. "Ray?" James said again. "Are you going to answer me or not?"

"James, I'm ok."

"That's not what I asked." He said.

"I know." Ray forced a small smile. "But that's how I'm answering." James waited another minute hoping that she would just give in and tell him what happened. He hated pestering her, but he didn't want to see her hurt.

"Please just tell me what happened."

"James, really-"

"Ray, please. I am asking you to just tell me what happened." He saw her hesitating and added, "Don't make me use Veritaserum on you."

"You wouldn't dare." She mumbled. "You don't even know where to get any."

"In your secret stash. Seeing as how Potions is your favorite class and you're so good at it, you always keep some important ones in stock. And don't think I won't find a way to get it. I have no problem going through your personal belongings."

"That's really comforting."

"Ray, please. I just want to know what's going on."

Ray took a deep breath and said, "You'll laugh at me."

"No, I promise I won't."

"I…" she sighed as she broke down and told him. "I fell down the stairs."

"You what?" He asked, unbelievingly.

"I fell down the stairs." She said simply. She knew there was no way she could tell him or anyone else the truth, and she figured that that was the most logical explanation she could give.

"You're telling me that you look like this all because you fell down some stairs?"

"Now you're just mocking me."

"Ray, look at you!"

"I don't think I look _that_ bad." Ray tried to stand up but lowered herself back onto the couch, because she was still really weak and didn't think her legs would be able to support her.

"You really fell down the stairs?" He asked again, still not believing her.

"Yes, I fell down the stairs. That's all that happened. I couldn't sleep so I went walking and I missed a step and fell down about five flights. And it hurt, a lot. So I'm sorry if I'm a little cranky. But I'm tired and couldn't make it up, so I laid down here."

"And forgot where you were?" Ray looked confused until he added, "When I woke you up? You didn't seem to realize you were in the common room."

"Well, I had just fallen down a bunch of stairs. I was probably a little disoriented when I came in."

"Stand up."

"What?" Ray asked, confused.

"Stand up." James repeated.

"Why?"

"Because I want to see for myself that you're okay. So, stand up." Ray sighed and pushed herself up off the couch. She got to her feet okay, but started staggering after a couple of seconds. She swayed a little and felt her right leg give out and James stood up and caught her. "Don't worry. I've got you." He whispered as he held her in his arms. They both lowered themselves onto the couch and James held Ray in his arms. He had never been that great at the whole comforting thing, but he really wanted to be there for her.

He looked down at her face and saw that she had closed her eyes and was resting her head on his shoulder. He never realized until this moment just how beautiful she really was. Even though her face was partly black and blue, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He thought back to all the time they had spent together and even though the thought had crossed both their minds before, there was always something in the way. This was the first time in a while that Ray and Sirius hadn't been together, and now was the time that she needed someone most. He thought about Sirius and how he would react if he saw the two of them at the moment. It wasn't a pretty thought.

Ray opened her eyes to see James staring at her. She smiled as she slowly lifted her head to look at him. "What?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "You sure you don't want to go to the hospital wing?" He asked, changing the subject.

"No, I really don't. I promise I'm fine." She paused, and then added, "But can we just sit here for a few more minutes?"

"Of course." He whispered as she lowered her head back onto his shoulder. He waited awhile, but then realized how late it was getting. "Ray?"

"Hmm?" She asked without moving.

"People are going to start waking up soon…and coming downstairs."

"Mkay." She mumbled as she sat up. James stood up and offered his hand to help her.

"Let's see if you can stand any better now." He said as she took his hand. He pulled her up and she stumbled a little before deciding to just lean on him. He wrapped his arms around her as he told himself that he was only being a good friend and helping her. But he had trouble convincing himself of that as he continued to hold her.

Ray looked at James and smiled at him as they just stood in the middle of the Common Room. She knew she needed to go upstairs and just go back to bed, but she didn't want to leave the comfort of his arms. She felt protected there, as if nothing could hurt her, not even Lucius. They continued to stare at each other for another minute, and Ray could feel James's breath on her face. As he bent down to meet her lips, she instinctively moved up to meet his. Just as their lips touched, Ray flinched as James's hand went over a bruise on her back.

"Sorry." He muttered. Ray laughed softly and laid her head on his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't." She said into his chest. Just as she said that, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Ray sat back down on the couch and James took a few steps back.

"Sirius?" James said as he saw Sirius step off the last step.

"Sirius?" Ray echoed.

"James? Ray?" He looked back and forth between the two of them. "What's going on?"


End file.
